150 feared dead after plane crashes in French Alps

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DIGNE-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - A Germanwings plane from Barcelona, Spain bound for Dusseldorf, Germany, crashed in the French Alps Tuesday morning. All 144 passengers and six crew members are feared dead.

One look at the crash site and you'll understand why. Rescue crews describe the plane as 'obliterated' with human remains strewn across the mountainside.

Crews did find at least one of the aircraft's black boxes, which contains crucial information for investigators. Early reports say radar shows a sharp, but gradual descent about a half hour after it took off.

"That steep descent would indicate that if the pilots were in control of the airplane responding to some sort of emergency," said Keith Wolzinger, a commercial airline pilot.

According to France's aviation authority, the pilots never sent out a distress call, deepening the mystery. The plane was an Airbus A320, just like the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea in December.

Details about the victims are starting to emerge.

The CEO of Germanwings says it appears 67 Germans were on board, including 16 school children.

The crash site is difficult to get to and the weather is expected to take a turn for the worse, making it impossible for recovery crews to safely navigate the treacherous terrain.